CRIME: Poway defense contractors indicted in U.S. Navy bribery scheme

Two Poway defense contractors pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that they bribed U.S. Navy officials to obtain government contracts worth millions of dollars, defrauded the military and used the contracts to launder money, authorities said.

Robert Ehnow, 46, owner of L&N Industrial Tool & Supply Inc., and Joanne Loehr, 52, owner of Centerline Industrial Inc. were charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud, money laundering and several felony counts each of bribery, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday by the U.S. attorney's office.

The charges come after a Carlsbad-based contractor, two employees with L&N and Centerline, and four Navy officials pleaded guilty to the scheme in March.

Ehnow and Loehr gave the four officials at North Island Naval Air Station more than $1 million worth of bribes, including cash, jewelry, Apple store gift cards, flat-screen televisions, pricey bicycles, luxury massage chairs, model airplanes, home remodeling services, furniture and appliances, according to the indictment.

The contractors then submitted fraudulent and marked-up invoices to the U.S. Department of Defense, and L&N laundered government funds funneled to Centerline, keeping a cut for itself, the indictment said.

"Some of these fraudulent orders and the false item descriptions therein were used by the conspirators to cause the Navy to reimburse L&N, defendant Centerline and (Carlsbad defense contractor X&D Supply Inc.) for items of value ... provided by defense contractors to Navy officials," the indictment said.

The Department of Defense has paid more than $3 million to L&N and more than $1 million to Centerline. It was unclear how long the scheme had been going on, but it went from at least 2007 to 2011, the indictment said.

L&N filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2011, while Centerline remained in business, according to a U.S. attorney's office statement.

Ehnow lives in Coronado and Loehr lives in La Jolla, the statement said.

Former Navy officials who pleaded guilty were Donald Vangundy, 54, of Chula Vista; Kiet Luc, 53, of San Diego; Brian Delaney, 55, of La Mesa; and Donald Lindsay, 57, of San Diego.

The contractors or employees who pleaded guilty were L&N sales manager John Newman, 51, of Poway; X&D Supply Inc. owner Michael Graven, 43, of Carlsbad; and Centerline sales manager Paul Grubiss, 39, of Wickliffe, Ohio, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Those cases were related to an earlier case involving San Diego defense contractor JD Machine Tech Inc. The company's owner, Jesse Denome, pleaded guilty in May 2011 to conspiracy to commit bribery and filing false tax returns, the statement said.

If convicted, Ehnow faces 75 years in federal prison and more than $1 million in fines, while Loehr faces up to 105 years in prison and nearly $2 million in fines if found guilty, the statement said.